How Much Does It Cost to Make Cold Brew at Home?

A cold brew from the counter runs $4.50–$5.50. Made at home it's coarse coffee steeped in cold water, about $1 to $1.75 a glass in beans, and the gear pays for itself within a handful of glasses.

The short answer

Cold brew is the cheapest coffee drink to make at home because you don't need a machine to start, only grounds, water and time. We cost a glass at 40 g (about 1.4 oz) of coarse grounds, enough for a 16 oz café-size pour (roughly 8 oz of brew over ice). A 12 oz bag makes about 8 glasses, so a $9 store-brand bag works out to ~$1.06 a glass and a $15 specialty bag to ~$1.76. A café charges $4.50 or more.

What goes into the cost

Beans (the main cost)

Cold brew uses more grounds per batch than drip, at a strong 1:4 to 1:8 coffee-to-water ratio, because you're making a concentrate to dilute later. We assume the strong end, about 1:5 diluted 1:1 over ice, which is where the 40 g a glass comes from. A weaker steep stretches a bag further, and a full 16 oz with no ice takes more. The calculator's “Your own bag” entry uses the same 40 g, so your number matches ours. Any coarse-ground coffee works; it doesn't need to be a fancy roast.

Water & time

The other half of the recipe is free. Coarse coffee steeps in cold water in the fridge for 12–18 hours, then you strain it. There's no heating and no machine involved.

Nitro (optional)

For the creamy, cascading pour you get at a café, a nitro maker charges the brew with N₂ (nitrogen) cartridges. Those are a small recurring cost on top of the coffee, and the only ongoing add-on cold brew has.

The one-time cost: the gear

None of it is required, but a little kit makes life easier. A mason jar and filter runs about $18, a dedicated cold brew maker about $34, and a nitro cold brew keg about $149. Each glass saves roughly $2.75 (about $4.50 at the counter against ~$1.76 at home), so the jar-and-filter setup pays for itself in about seven glasses. A nitro glass saves closer to $3.20 once the N₂ charger is counted ($5.50 against ~$2.31), so even the keg breaks even after roughly fifty.

No ads here. If you buy through this link, DrinkIY earns a small commission and you pay the same price. How we make money

Is it worth it?

Almost always, because it costs next to nothing to start. You can use a jar you already own and have a glass the next morning for about a dollar. If you drink it regularly, a dedicated maker or a nitro rig pays for itself quickly. The calculator will show your break-even before you buy anything.

Food-safety note: cold brew is never heated, so use clean equipment, keep the concentrate refrigerated, and drink it within about a week. Caffeine per glass varies widely with your brew ratio. Full terms & disclaimers →